Green Building

Some practices, such as using renewable materials or passive solar design, date back millennia - ancient Greeks built entire cities so that all the homes received solar heat in the winter. They are still many sustainable Greeks and Roman building that were built from volcanic ash + Lime.

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Green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by:

Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources

Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity

Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation

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Principles of green building

Green building techniquesminimize energy usage and destruction to the environment, as well as create safe, comfortable buildings for people. Here are three sets of principles to follow:

Make appropriate use of land.

Make efficient use of limited natural resources.

Enhance human health for builders and homeowners.

Use nontoxic, local materials to assist the local economy.

Preserve plants, animals, endangered species, and natural habitats.

Protect agricultural, cultural and archeological resources.

Reduce total lifetime energy usage.

Be economical to build and operate.

Demonstrate recyclability.

Have a positive effect and increased productivity on occupants in the working or living space.

(from the brochure for the Green Building Conference '97 in Austin, TX, USA)

Make appropriate use of land.

Use water, energy, lumber, and other resources efficiently.

Enhance human health.

Strengthen local economies and communities.

Conserve plants, animals, endangered species, and natural habitats.

Protect agricultural, cultural, and archeological resources.

Be nice to live in.

Be economical to build and operate.

(from A Primer on Sustainable Building,Rocky Mountain Institute)

Smaller is better. Optimize use of interior space through careful design so that the overall building size-and resource use in constructing and operating it-are kept to a minimum.

Design an energy-efficient building. Use high levels of insulation, high-perfomance windows, and tight construction.

Design buildings to use renewable energy. Passive solar heating, daylighting, and natural cooling can be incorporated cost-effectively into most buildings. Also consider solar water heating and photovoltaics.

Design for water-efficient, low-maintenance landscaping. Conventional lawns have a high impact because of water use, pesticide use, and pollution generated by lawn mowers. Landscape with drought-resistant native plants and perennial ground covers.

Make it easy for occupants to recycle waste. Make provisions for storage and processing of recyclables.

Look into the feasibility of using gray water. Water from sinks, showers, and washing machines can be recycled for irrigation in some areas.

Design for durability. To spread the environmental impacts of building over as long a period as possible, the structure must be durable. Durable aesthetics ("timeless architecture") are also important.

Design for future reuse and adaptability. Make the structure adaptable to other uses, and choose materials and components that can be reused or recycled.

Definition of Green Building

Green building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. This practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Green building is also known as a sustainable or high performance building.

Green Building History in the U.S.

The contemporary green building movement arose out of the need and desire for more energy efficient and environmentally friendly building practices.

The oil price increases of the 1970s spurred significant research and activity to improve energy efficiency and find renewable energy sources. This, combined with the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s, led to the earliest experiments with contemporary green building.

The green building field began to come together more formally in the 1990s. A few early milestones in the U.S. include:

Green Building Research

Green building research is being done by national laboratories, private companies, universities, and industry. According to a USGBC report published in 2006, over 70 percent of the green building research is focused on energy and atmosphere research. The next largest category of research is materials and resources. Indoor environmental quality, including issues pertaining to air, is also being studied. The USGBC report, Green Building Research Funding: An Assessment of Current Activity in the United States (PDF)(37 pp, 316 KB, About PDF), have additional information.

EPA's Green Building Workgroup was formed in July 2003 to bring together the many programs across the Agency that work with the building and development sectors to improve their environmental performance. The Workgroup seeks to build effective EPA leadership in the green building movement by jointly informing, coordinating, and guiding the development of Agency policies, programs, partnerships, communications, and operations that influence building and development.

Greening EPA Buildings

To ensure that EPA's buildings and practices reflect the mission of protecting human health and the environment, EPA continuously works to reduce the environmental impact of its facilities and operations, from building new, environmentally sustainable structures to improving the energy efficiency of older buildings. A number of EPA facilities are actively pursuing or demonstrating green building principles.

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Dear mohammed

A warm

If you are interested in becoming

a board member - please read this.

Current model chapter bylaws provide for a Board of Directors consisting of (USGBC recommends a minimum of seven) representatives from the USGBC membership categories. No more than two seats can be filled by any one membership category. Directors must be employed in the membership category for which they intend to run. The Nominating Committee is responsible for developing a slate of qualified candidates for annual elections.

USGBC Member Categories (and subcategories)

Contractors and Builders

Corporate and Retail

Educational Institutes

Federal Government

Financial Institutions

Insurance Companies

Non-profit Organizations

Product Manufacturers

Building Controls

Distributors

Product Manufacturers

Service Contractors

Professional Firms

Accountants

Architects

Architects/Engineers

Attorneys

Commissioning Providers

Consultants

Engineers

Interior Designers

Landscape Architects

Liaison

Planners

Professional Societies

Real Estate

State and Local Government- Local Government

State and Local Government- State Government

Utilities and Energy Services

Criteria for the Nominating Committee in Evaluating Candidates for the Board. These are sample criteria for soliciting and evaluating nominees. The final criteria a chapter will use in soliciting and evaluating nominees should be included in the call for nominations.

1. Is employed by a USGBC member company in good standing that is registered in the pertinent membership category and is a full member in good standing of the chapter.

2. Brings substantive knowledge and experience from the pertinent membership category to help the Chapter design and implement programs relevant to that sector.

3. Brings important knowledge and contributions from one or more areas of special interest to the Chapter [include areas of special interest]:

4. Contributes to the Boardâ€™s diversity in geography, skills, and overall perspective.

5. Brings leadership expertise to contribute to the Chapterâ€™s governance.

6. Brings the ability and willingness to influence key players and sectors in the industry including high priority sectors of real estate, corporate, energy/utility, finance, residential and product manufacturers.

7. Is able and willing to recruit new members for the USGBC and Chapter.

8. Is able and willing to serve on committees as needed including leadership positions.

9. Brings the ability and willingness to help secure funding for the Chapterâ€™s programs through sponsorships, corporate and charitable sources, and other significant sources of funding.

10. Will abide by the USGBCâ€™s conflict of interest policy.

11. Is able and willing to attend a majority of the Board meetings each year and participate in committee work as assigned.